Ciclope!
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
In these years, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, Italy, gifting a new identity to books. A new look and a new function. In order to introduce you to a new concept of books. A book which isn’t just made up of stories, characters, actions, but… a book which is made of glances. Stares, understandings, moments… spent together.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
We live in a crazy word, and thought the artifacts we aim to push the people to go back to a more sustainable society.
Let’s start from the beginning. From Stone.
Who are you? Asked one of the first giants from our past.
Many are the giants that have carried us so far and that we wish to honour in a series of paper artifacts. Furnishing accessories that aim at showing how small our perspective is without them, once we get off those sturdy shoulders we are sitting on.
Who are you? Nobody, precisely.
In these years, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, gifting a new identity to books. A new look and a new function. In order to introduce you to a new concept of books. A book which isn’t just made up of stories, characters, actions, but… a book which is made of glances. Stares, understandings, moments… spent together.
Visual architectures, enclosed in a book block of paper, on the surface of which, every day, different shadows will continuously appear, aimed only at narrating the passing of time and escorting the eye during its rustling.
A new concept of books, that shapes the object as expression in itself of the story. A narrative evolution and an embrace of the book in a world composed by screens and light which is far too dark compared to a past in which craftsmanship became a high-level manufacture design.
We wanted to draw a story made of paper, ferrying the observer across a river of typography, history and atmospheres.
Hour after hour, through the shadows that are created and bloom throughout the day, a visual tale is set up between the environment and the observer, devoted to emphasize the present.
Key objectives for sustainability
We live in a crazy word, and thought the artifacts we aim to push the people to go back to a more sustainable society. (please take a look to the video of the concept/idea)
All the Artifact is done by ourselves, with passion and purpose. We wanted to talk to a too fast society, designing the simplest communicative artifact ever and giving new shape to the book. A new soul and a new porpoise. No ink, no fancy printing. All sustainable paper from GMUND Papier and FAVINI. We aimed to design the spectacularization of absence. There are nothing, but still we wanted to give a soul to paper.
Our project is especially environmentally friendly and sustainable because it is a second life for paper. All the papers used are 100% recycled post consumer use, and FSC Certified. The selected paper has been used to do new sheet and we used that for a series of artifacts that has the purpose to push people far away form the capitalism, speediness of our days, and go back to a slow perception of the word, a more pure and a more correct contact with the nature. An artifact that is a second life for paper, and that aim to stay with you forever, but still can be recycled and became again a third life… and so on.
Package, certificate of authenticity, the artifact and all the sheets are on sustainable paper.
Packaging: FAVINI Shiro Eco Raw Black
Certificate: FAVINI Tree Free
Ciclope: GMUND Heidi Faded Gray
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
(please take a look to the video of the concept/idea)
We have been looking not only for aesthetics — because this is not the only root of a communicative artifact — but we have been striving for a timeless design, which could be the harbinger of the message, and at the same time the essence of a "new" spirit to be disclosed, giving voice to those giants who transported us here, today.
We have been looking for the simplest shape, designing the simplest visual artifacts ever, giving soul to paper and reshaping the book. We aimed to design the spectacularization of absence. There are nothing, no ink, no fancy printing. We wanted to engrave the paper as stone, by the instrument of the book design and by hand processes.
A round visual architecture, enclosed in a book block of paper, on the surface of which, every day, different shadows will continuously appear, aimed "only" at narrating the passing of time and escorting the eye during its rustling.
Hour after hour, through the shadows that are created and bloom throughout the day, a visual tale is set up between the environment and the observer, devoted to emphasize the present.
From the moment it is freed from its packaging, Ciclope! starts narrating the time spent together and day by day it will grow with us. The paper will change, yellowing and swelling, stained by the memories that we would have lived hand in hand, becoming a silent narrator of the fantastic journey that life represents. If it were to be smudged, scribbled on by our child, hot or cold, Ciclope! will remember… never forgetting anything.
A continuous game of glances. A silence filled by the power of printing, in an interweaving of art, history and design. A research about the book’s function as expression of a story, be it visual or narrative.
The project has been made with handcraft methods, by us in Venice. We have used the historical approach to paper using old and hot foil techniques.
Key objectives for inclusion
In these years, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, gifting a new identity to books. A new look and a new function. In order to introduce you to a new concept of books. A book which isn’t just made up of stories, characters, actions, but… a book which is made of glances. Stares, understandings, moments… spent together.
Hour after hour, through the shadows that are created and bloom throughout the day, a visual tale is set up between the environment and the observer, devoted to emphasize the present.
We wanted to draw a story made of paper, ferrying the observer across a river of typography, history and atmospheres.
Hour after hour, through the shadows that are created and bloom throughout the day, a visual tale is set up between the environment and the observer, devoted to emphasize the present.
From the moment it is freed from its packaging, Ciclope! starts narrating the time spent together and day by day it will grow with us. The paper will change, yellowing and swelling, stained by the memories that we would have lived hand in hand, becoming a silent narrator of the fantastic journey that life represents. If it were to be smudged, scribbled on by our child, hot or cold, Ciclope! will remember… never forgetting anything.
A continuous game of glances. A silence filled by the power of printing, in an interweaving of art, history and design. A research about the book’s function as expression of a story, be it visual or narrative.
Results in relation to category
We live in a crazy word, and thought the artifacts we aim to push the people to go back to a more sustainable society.
In these years, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, gifting a new identity to books. A new look and a new function. In order to introduce you to a new concept of books. A book which isn’t just made up of stories, characters, actions, but… a book which is made of glances. Stares, understandings, moments… spent together.
Visual architectures, enclosed in a book block of paper, on the surface of which, every day, different shadows will continuously appear, aimed only at narrating the passing of time and escorting the eye during its rustling.
We wanted to draw a story made of paper, ferrying the observer across a river of typography, history and atmospheres.
A new concept of book, thought for the modern age. Designed and manufactured with artisan process by us, in Venice Italy, where all the history of book (and the modern age) has begun.
New books, kinetic art pieces, sculpted by the movement of the sun and artificial lights, once the artifacts are hung on the wall. Then in the evening... when all the lights are turned off, and the night comes, everything come to an end.
The morning after, at the new rising, everything starts again... an inexorable flow of days, seasons, colours and atmospheres that mark every day as unique, but part of the great journey that life represents.
How Citizens benefit
A new concept of books, that shapes the object as expression in itself of the story. A narrative evolution and an embrace of the book in a world composed by screens and light which is far too dark compared to a past in which craftsmanship became a high-level manufacture design.
Books was invented to give us power. The portable books invented by Aldo Manuzio in Venice at the very beginning of 1500 d.C. has been thought to give to all the society the power of knowledge and to give us freedom.
Portable books has been thought to be an instrument of knowledge for the people, for everyone and not for only someone, invented in a period of darkness like it was the middle ages. A period of madness, loneliness and power only in the hands of somebody.
The same we aim to, giving you the power of a “new” spirit, designing something new, something that could help us to see the beauty of the universe. Something that could help us to focus on the "here and now", on that "hic et nunc" from which we come and from which we can still learn so much.
After more than 500 years, in a word totally changed, composed by light, during which nobody reads and where everyone think to be someone. In a word of socials and doubtful values, in a word of speediness. In a word of only light and power, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, gifting a new identity to books.
We wanted to design a book to bring you back to the importance of the moment, to go back to a sustainability of time, knowledge and reshape the balance through the book tradition.
Using sustainable materials, concepts and handcraft manufacture. Using artisan knowledge, doing by hand Ciclope! and giving soul to paper.
In Venice. Where all has begun.
Let’s start from the beginning. From Stone.
Who are you? Asked one of the first giants from our past.
I’m nobody.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
We are often looking for something to accompany us through our time: a book, a song, a voice on the radio, a television program, a series on Netflix... we could say we feel protected in being cradled in our time.
Since we were children, we have learned to listen to stories. Especially in recent centuries, paper has cultivated, narrated and taught billions of people, guiding us to what humanity is, today. Through the books, ideas and knowledge have spread around the world bringing us to the invention of the Internet thirty years ago, somehow dematerializing history and tradition in the process.
Deprived of the chance of stopping time, we decided to narrate it, through an artifact that could best represent the graphic craft. An attempt to dignify what is at the same time the foundation, essence and history of communication design: paper.
We have been looking for illustrating a story made of paper, ferrying the observer across a river of typography, history and atmospheres.
In these years, where books and culture are undergoing a bad spell, in which printing is thought to be dead and everything becomes “light”… we wanted to start anew from Venice, gifting a new identity to books. A new look and a new function. In order to introduce you to a new concept of books. A book which isn’t just made up of stories, characters, actions, but… a book which is made of glances. Stares, understandings, moments… spent together.
Printing and converting handcraft
We have used embossing, debossing, and hot foil printing for the packaging. Offset and calligraphy on the certificate of authenticity. We used also handcrafmanship for doing the circle by hand, with wood and a loot of passion for paper, and all the manufacture we did it by ourselves. We used a special four sides binding we deposit at EUIPO, for push the artifacts to move and change during his life when he is on contact with cold, hot, humid, and all environmental situation.
Learning transferred to other parties
During last years we designed also other artifacts that "play" with the same concept and approach, working with time, shadows and typography, always designing new books.
For Example:
We designed Perpetuo!
We have imagined a calendar in which there is no beginning and no end, no months and no years, but only days and the flow of time. Since the moment it is freed from its cellophane, perpetuo! begins to narrate the time together and day by day it’s growing with us. Every day Perpetuo! will reveal the flow of time through a visual architecture that shapes ever-changing shadows, depending on how the sun moves during the day and how the artificial lights will illuminate it.
We didn't want to design one of the usual calendars useful for programming time, trying to freeze it in a disposable object with a beginning and an end, but we have always dreamed to design something new, something that could help us to see the beauty of the universe.
Perpetuo! has not to be used as a normal calendar, it doesn’t help us to know what day it is tomorrow, but it just tells us what day it is today.
https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2020/233014/perpetuo-nano/
https://awards.europeandesign.org/#/Winners/235283
We also designed Nanetto! Literally: tiny dwarf!
Many are the giants that have carried us so far and we wanted to honour in a series of paper artifacts.
Pieces of furniture devoted to show how small our perspective is without them, once we get off those sturdy shoulders we are sitting on. Six visual architectures, enclosed in a book block of Fedrigoni paper, on the surface of which, every day, different shadows will continuously appear, narrating the passing of time and escorting the eye during its rustling.
Kinetic art pieces, sculpted by the movement of the sun and artificial lights, once the artifacts are hung on the wall.
https://awards.europeandesign.org/#/Winners/251556
